Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are gaining a foothold in US health care facilities, particularly long-term care facilities, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In 2012, only a decade after the CDC first identified a case of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in a North Carolina long-term care facility, nearly 5% of acute care hospitals and nearly 18% of long-term care facilities reported at least 1 carbapenem-resistant infection associated with health care, according to a CDC report (MMWR. 2013;62[09]:165-170). These infections are difficult or impossible to treat because the organisms are resistant to even the last-resort antibiotics. As a result, about half of these patients die, according to the CDC.